


Celebrating Writers: Season 3 of Supernatural

by yourlibrarian



Series: Celebrating Writers [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Meta, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-07 00:00:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6775669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I decided to do a brief discussion of the episodes I thought were most impressive from a writing standpoint. They're not necessarily the most significant, or my favorite episodes (as there are some more flawed stories I quite enjoyed) but I do think they're the best put-together.</p><p>So for S3 my choices are:</p>
            </blockquote>





	Celebrating Writers: Season 3 of Supernatural

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted May 29, 2008

Since we have nearly a third fewer episodes this season I'm going to choose the top 2 instead of top 3 –- Mystery Spot by Jeremy Carver and Jus in Bello by Sera Gamble.

In looking at episodes in S1, I identified three things that made an episode stand out from a writing perspective. The first is that they focused on one of our two central characters instead of a case and revealed "truths about the characters in ways that are displayed rather than discussed." Of course part of why I focused on this is because there was a lot of formulaic writing in S1 with the MotW taking precedence in the storytelling, and my choices broke this pattern. Now in S3 this is less of an issue. Although we still have episodes this season where our main characters take a back seat (Malleus or Ghostfacers), overall there is more of a focus on the Winchester arc than the cases. In some weeks the cases are pretty incidental to other things going on -- Time or Rest being prime examples. But my two chosen episodes break with patterns in some important ways. A second factor was that the episodes defied our expectations in some way, showing complexity in the writing. The third factor was that there was some sort of philosophical underpinning to the episode. 

I think that Mystery fulfilled all these criteria particularly well. While the time loop story is a well known trope at this point, it was certainly novel for SPN in several ways. First, it established that such a thing was possible within the verse. I don't think this was really a total break from established canon though, in that from day 1 the boys were identified as ghost hunters. Ghosts it would seem are always stuck in their own personal time loops, whether like Corbett as an echo or as the more active Molly. The big break came with identifying the extent of what a god like a Trickster could do (and with no particular effort on his part either). It seems almost ludicrous that Sam could ever kill it with a stake. Supposedly the Colt can kill anything -- I have to wonder if that would include a god?

The novelty of the time loop also allowed for us to play out numerous scenarios regarding Dean's death, introducing a canonical form of AU for the verse, since Sam has now lived at least 9 months that no one else remembers (3+ in the time loop, at least 6 months afterwards). Ever since the beginning of the show it's been clear that events are taking place in between episodes given the time gaps. So not only is there an enormous backstory we have yet to see explored onscreen, but there are likely many cases that have taken place during the canonical time line that we have also not seen, as well as the numerous housekeeping tasks that Sam and Dean must engage in such as restocking trips, credit card paperwork, maintenance for the Impala, etc. We can only assume none of those events have been particularly significant in the development of the two characters or their relationship. However in this barely glimpsed timeline, this is not the case. Sam has to have been profoundly affected by the repeated trauma of Dean's death and his eventual solitary state. We see some of this in the montage and final scene with the Trickster. I think the show (if not JP) has also done well in not dropping the ball in allowing some of these effects to come out in future episodes. 

There is also a philosophical underpinning to all this, which I found was expressed in clear form by the Trickster and Dean within the show, underlying the cleverness of this idea as a whole. Without repeating my original review of the episode at length, the story is not just a time loop story but a deliberate twist of the Groundhog Day version of it. Whereas that story focused on a rather unpleasant protagonist eventually stepping out of his self-centered shell to become a better man as a result of being stuck in place, this story focuses on a rather well-meaning protagonist who becomes a worse, more selfish human being as a result of this deliberate prank. It's never explained in Groundhog Day why the protagonist was stuck, but the end result lent itself to the idea of a cosmic benevolence forcing him to improve his life. Of course in SPN, there seems to be a complete absence of benevolence from above, and powerful forces seem to be out to destroy people, not help them. And even if those forces were out to help, it doesn't mean people are going to take the lessons to heart. Whether the Trickster was being self-serving in telling Sam he was trying to teach him an important lessons or not, Sam stubbornly refused to accept it. In fact if it wasn't for Dean's tip, steering Sam back to the case that brought them to town, he could have been stuck in the loop for considerably longer, wearing blinkers for anything else but Dean's rescue. 

And this is another way in which the show's usual focus is thrown for a loop here. Although I've argued elsewhere that "saving people" has become more of a side issue for the show and characters in S3, this is most strongly exemplified here. Although it's Sam that brings them to town trying to solve the mystery of a missing person, his only concern with that case becomes how it affects the two of them. In fact we only ever find out about the resolution of that case or anyone involved in passing. But in the SPN version of the time loop this is a Sam story, and Sam approaches it the way he does anything else –- relentlessly, and trying to understand the reason for it. I'd be curious if anyone has tried to rewrite this episode with Dean as the one who maintains memory through each loop, and has to watch Sam dying over and over. There's a profound difference at this point to how each sees the issue of "letting go." I think Dean's feelings about the Deal have shifted over the course of the season. Would he have been more amenable to the idea of Sam dying after 100 cycles, especially since hell isn't Sam's fate? Would he have been more willing to stay in the cycle permanently, since that way he'd be putting off his fate indefinitely and he'd get to be with Sam each day? I bring this up not just because I'd be curious to read such a story but to point out how differently this episode could have run. 

Another aspect of turnaround is how the secondary characters are seen. Even the affable waitress gets no particular warmth from Sam over the course of the episode -- his only personal remark to her is about what a lousy shot she is. Whereas Bill Murray ended up seeing past the human frailties of the people in town, Sam's remarks to Dean about them are all negative –- the judge who's a furry, the thieving waiter, the ne'er do well bum. Of course it's entirely possible that all of them at some point ended up having a hand in Dean's death, but then Sam's been there and done that too, and knows how accidental it can be. In this episode the tables are a bit turned in how Dean has to pinch hit for his suddenly socially indifferent brother. 

One last point I'd raise about how this episode breaks with formula is that it's the only one where we see any aspect of the Winchesters' daily routines. For all that the show turns on the relationship between the brothers, it's a very outward focused show. What passes for their daily experiences is often hidden in the margins, and this is especially true this season. I can hardly remember seeing research being done (either online or at public institutions), and Sam and Dean are introduced in medias res in more than one episode, simply turning up as investigators with next to no explanation of how they came to find the case (and in some episodes it's not even clear where they are). While a timeline has often been vague in the past, the exact locations and some insight into their legwork has been present. Yet in Mystery Spot we not only get a set-up for the case but we actually follow their mornings. This story is truly about them as people, not just pawns in the larger family arc. I don't think the return to seeing a Dean we'd almost forgotten -- whimsical, lighthearted, a pain in the ass, but caring and a pro -- is a coincidence either. 

So Mystery Spot has profound effects on one of the two characters, it has ramifications for the operation of the verse, and it rather inverts the usual focus of the show. Structurally, it also works very well, not just in a plot that holds together but also in the emotional structure. This episode would appear to only have an A story, but I'd argue that it does have an A and B story. The A story is the mystery at hand –- why is the time loop occurring? But we get the answer to that ¾ of the way into the story. That's when the B story becomes apparent. It's about the emotional wringer Sam is being put through. We start out with him in turns amused, annoyed, and exasperated with Dean -- and then horrified as Dean dies for the first time. Then he goes through confusion and panic as events repeat themselves and Dean dies a second time. Sam then shuttles between fear and stress as he tries to explain to Dean what's going on, then moves into hostility in his interview of the Mystery Spot owner. He is temporarily comforted by Dean who tries to help Sam find a solution, only to find himself stymied and resigned at every turn as Dean dies and dies and dies. 

I know some people didn't care for the shift into comedy in the first 1/3 of the story, but I think it was a necessity. Not only is the episode going plenty dark by the end, but the relentlessness of Dean's death is likely to leave viewers numb if they have to experience it repeatedly. Better to lull the audience into levity while still conveying what the characters are going through. This is particularly the case when we see Sam go completely nuts several deaths in as he imprisons the owner, hacks up the Mystery Spot, and eventually kills an increasingly freaked-out Dean accidentally by his own hand. I'm not sure too many audience members really wanted to see that bit played in deadly seriousness. At that point we stop seeing the endless cycle Sam (and, unknowingly, Dean) suffer through, but we've already been told everything we need to know. We've seen the desperation he's been driven to, we gather how he's been alarming Dean, and we see what this trap has been doing to his personality. Even before the ruthlessness we're shown clearly at the end of the episode, it's been developing bit by bit with each cycle he goes through. We finally see Sam kickstarted into researching again, coming up with a solution to the case, and furiously confronting the Trickster. His growing coldness is obvious as despite getting an offer of a "no harm, no foul" from the Trickster, he thinks it'll just be better to kill him. I wonder if that decision plays into Dean's eventual death the next day? And then the B story plays out to the end as we see Sam lost, singleminded and willing to kill anyone who gets in his way. We see a flare of his inner morality as he contemplates killing Bobby, then hopelessness as he begs for Dean's return, hopeful relief when Wednesday returns again, and finally regret as he contemplates what he's been through a last time before they leave. 

In my choices for S2 I thought that Nightshifter had been the best written episode so far. I still think it's a matter of preference whether Nightshifter or Mystery Spot hold that title. My feeling about Nightshifter is that few episodes focus on how well Sam and Dean do their job as that one did. Technically "The Usual Suspects" did that as well but, IMO, did it in a fairly unbelievable way. I saw this episode again today and was reminded of how nice it was to see both of these characters being written as intelligent and focused professionals. My favorite bit was when Dean and Sam are both pondering Dana Shulps in their respective holding rooms (smart Dean, where have you gone?) At the same time this was done to excess. Would Sam, a potential lawyer, possibly even a potential public defender, really dismiss a well-meaning member of that profession with a "Matlock" reference the same way Dean would? The likelihood of both coming up with similar stories to explain their presence in the case I'd buy, but identical to the last detail? Doesn't seem likely given what different people both are. 

But I digress. How does Jus in Bello do with the three points? For starters, I find these two stories go together quite well, and it's pretty fascinating to me that Mystery and Jus were supposedly written in reverse order (though I'm not clear that they were filmed that way). I also find it quite interesting that there are parallels between Nightshifter and Jus in Bello, and not just in that Henriksen appears in both. Although returning to the competent professionals angle, one thing I loved about Henriksen is that he brought this out in Sam and Dean. That's what a good antagonist character should do, really make the heroes pop in whatever way makes them distinctive. I find the biggest flaw in this story to be the way Henriksen's development was rushed because he was being killed off. Although I'm likely biased because he's been one of my favorite recurring characters, I really do think there's much more that could have been done with him, and that there could have been an additional layer of tension in this episode but for this inexplicable decision.

And here's the important difference between Nightshifter and JiB. The former was a stellar episode because it kept turning up the tension as the episode went on, and doing it largely by defying audience expectations about the characters and situations. JiB starts out well but diffuses things halfway through, presumably so it can do more development of Henriksen before he departs. But it does break with formula in a few important ways. Initially it looks as if this episode is going to focus on the hunt for Bela. But this gets turned on its head with the arrival, not just of the police but of Henriksen. We then begin getting one of the episode's features, a semi-outside look at Sam and Dean. As in Nightshifter, this episode relies on its established brother relationship to make certain things work, but it isn't an episode where we actually see a lot of development in this area. For example, even the major divide between Sam and Dean in terms of approach late in the episode gets dealt with rather quickly, and isn't a whole lot different than their opposite stance on Ron in Nightshifter. It's just that given where the two are coming from at this point in the arc, the stakes have definitely gone up. However, contrast the look at Sam and Dean in Nightshifter to JiB. Given the set-up of that episode, it could have presented a largely outside POV of Sam and Dean, shifting from the various outsiders they encounter there, just as in JiB it comes from both Victor and Nancy. Here we can understand pretty well how the two are seen by people who don't know them. Once again they are giving instructions to civilians (Ron or Victor), 

So in the cell we start wondering how Sam and Dean are going to get away -- this seems like a setup for an "on the run" episode. (In fact I'm now thinking of Butch and Sundance going "Who are these guys?") featuring Henriksen as Joe Lefors. However then Henriksen's boss arrives, sending Victor off balance and attempting to shoot the Winchesters. Suddenly this becomes not an escape but a siege, with our heroes hamstrung. I thought Henriksen's possession was the most by-the-numbers part of the script, but it was certainly a shortcut in making him a believer and unquestionably in charge as the sheriff is killed (in a nice turnaround from what both we and Sam and Dean expect). What follows are a continued series of twists –- the broken salt line doesn't bring in the enemy but Ruby. There's a challenge to Sam's leadership made and he backs down. We have a big showdown which they win, and we seem to wrap up the episode in a fashion rarely seen this season. But then we have yet another turnaround with Lilith's appearance, and then the coda with Ruby, hammering home the episode's message that playing by the rules leads to failure. This was true for Henriksen, who if he hadn't taken a chance on Sam and Dean would have condemned everyone to death. Unfortunately this ending is undermined because, unless Lilith was very close indeed, it would have made no difference which solution they chose -- those in the station would still be dead. In fact, the Winchesters themselves would have been dead sooner because Ruby would have been gone, and unable to mask their location with the convenient mojo bags. 

So there are various players in action in this episode, feints about the type of episode it will be and who will be a central character, and a successful escape with portentous overtones. In various ways it mirrors Nighshifter, in that who the enemy will be remains uncertain all throughout the episode, and that there are multiple challenges to Sam and Dean. It even does so in small ways, such as in terms of who's in charge. In Nightshifter, Henriksen gets introduced as someone who supersedes the investigation after we thought it would be the local lieutenant. And at first he seems like someone in the know only to turn out misguided. In JiB we think Henriksen will be in charge only to be superseded (temporarily) by his boss, who actually _is_ in the know. Structurally it's not as well put together as Nighshifter, there are more holes and some failed opportunities. But overall it does fairly well in setting up and challenging expectations, providing a philosophical talking point, and in revealing something about the characters. 

In S1 there were various episodes that were simplistic or some that were simply flimsy and sloppy in their storytelling. However there's something to be said for stories which are less ambitious but better executed. I think JiB is a weaker contender for solid writing than earlier choices. And although I won't go into it, my pick for 3rd ep would be Bad Day at Black Rock, a solid comedy which succeeded by having the characters shine. Had Bela been this well used throughout the season I suspect her character would have gone over better.


End file.
